Berger Montague

10/09/2026

E. Michelle Drake, Executive Shareholder of Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiff law firm, delivered the keynote address Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid’s 2026 Access to Justice Dinner in St. Cloud on October 8, 2026. In her remarks, Ms. Drake described the extraordinary pro bono response of Minnesota’s legal community during Operations Metro Surge and PARRIS, urging attendees to support Legal Aid as a new immigration detention center opens in Appleton.

“I have two asks of all of you tonight. The first is money,” said Ms. Drake. “So, I ask that you all give more than you planned to give, more than you’ve already given.” Ms. Drake then added, “If you have a bar card, you have a tool that most Minnesotans don’t have. Legal Aid will train you and connect you with a case. And when Appleton opens, they are going to need your help.”

You can give to Legal Aid here:

Donate to Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. Join us in the fight for equal justice and a stronger community for all!

09/30/2026

Nurses recruited from foreign countries to work in U.S. hospitals have filed a federal class action lawsuit against private equity firm against Harren Equity Partners, LLC, alleging the firm knowingly profited from a forced labor scheme carried out by its portfolio company, MedPro (Management Health Systems).

The lawsuit, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Charlottesville Division, Case No. 3:26-cv-00101-JHY-JCH, alleges that Harren knowingly benefited from MedPro’s use of steep early- termination penalties and the threat of lawsuits to keep nurses in low-paid, understaffed, and unsafe hospital jobs, in violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA).

The nurses are represented by Berger Montague, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll LLP, Towards Justice, the Law Offices of Magen E. Kellam, Touff Schweich PLLC, and attorney Ashley Davis of Charlottesville-based MichieHamlett. https://bergermontague.com/news/nurses-file-class-action-alleging-private-equity-company-harren-equity-partners-profited-from-forced-labor-scheme/

09/29/2026

Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiff law firm, and the Project on Predatory Student Lending (PPSL) have filed a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education for reporting canceled student loans as unpaid debts on borrowers’ credit reports. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the Department violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by continuing to report loans it canceled for former students of ten for-profit schools found to have engaged in fraud and misconduct. An estimated $4.6 billion in canceled debt is still being reported for more than 300,000 borrowers.

“The Department told these borrowers their debts were gone, but their credit reports say otherwise,” said Shareholder John Albanese. “These are people who were defrauded by their schools, and now they are paying the price a second time—through higher borrowing costs and lost opportunities—because the Department will not correct its own records.”

Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiff law firm, and the Project on Predatory Student Lending (PPSL) have filed a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education for reporting canceled student loans as unpaid debts on borrowers’ credit reports. The complaint, filed in the U.S....

09/23/2026

Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiff-side law firm, on September 16, 2026 filed a pro bono amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Morozov v. Warden, Lawrence County Jail, urging the Court to affirm a district court ruling that barred the government from re-detaining a noncitizen without new evidence or a hearing. The firm filed the brief on behalf of five Minnesota-based immigrant and detainee rights organizations.

“No one should lose their liberty a second time without ever getting a chance to be heard,” said Joe Hashmall, counsel for Amici Curiae. “These are our neighbors we’re talking about. We all need to come together to support them—and that is exactly what happened in this amicus brief. It was a true team effort.” read more https://bergermontague.com/news/berger-montague-files-amicus-brief-in-eighth-circuit-immigration-detention-appeal/

08/28/2026

Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiffs’ law firm, announces that a federal judge has largely denied motions to dismiss claims that Shen Yun Performing Arts, Inc. and other defendants subjected children and young adults to forced labor and did not pay them proper wages.

“This ruling means these survivors will finally have the opportunity to prove their case,” said Executive Shareholder Michael Dell’Angelo. “For years these performers were recruited as children, isolated from the outside world, and forced to work under threat of serious harm to themselves and their families — and a federal court has now confirmed that those allegations can move forward into discovery.”

Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiffs’ law firm, announces that a federal judge has largely denied motions to dismiss claims that Shen Yun Performing Arts, Inc. and other defendants subjected children and young adults to forced labor and did not pay them proper wages. “This ruling means...

08/24/2026

Class action attorney E. Michelle Drake helped lead the charge against Operation PARRIS by filing habeas petitions and a class-action lawsuit to protect refugee rights in Minnesota.

Driven by the urgency of the moment, she and her team used the justice system to right wrongs and hold federal agencies accountable.

She recounts the experience in Minnesota Super Lawyers magazine:

https://www.superlawyers.com/articles/minnesota/the-urgency-of-the-moment/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=june-avawards&utm_content=ap_a4acbhlnn6

07/23/2026

Berger Montague is proud to announce that Executive Shareholder E. Michelle Drake, who founded and leads the Firm’s Minneapolis office, has been featured in a Super Lawyers profile titled “The Urgency of the Moment,” spotlighting her leadership in defending refugees and immigrants against unlawful detention by federal authorities in Minneapolis. Read more https://www.superlawyers.com/articles/minnesota/the-urgency-of-the-moment/

07/15/2026

Berger Montague and Locks Law Firm File Class Action for Residents Affected by Massive Gasoline Leak at Aston, Pa. Chelsea Tank Farm. The Complaint alleges that Monroe Energy, LLC and MIPC, LLC concealed a months-long leak that released approximately 378,000 gallons of gasoline into a Delaware County neighborhood, contaminating soil, groundwater, drinking water, and indoor air. Read more

The Complaint alleges that Monroe Energy, LLC and MIPC, LLC concealed a months-long leak that released approximately 378,000 gallons of gasoline into a Delaware County neighborhood, contaminating soil, groundwater, drinking water, and indoor air. Berger Montague and Locks Law Firm have filed a class...

06/11/2026

12 Berger Montague Attorneys Named to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation. This year’s class of 12 Berger Montague honorees represents the firm’s strongest showing in the guide to date, reflecting the depth and breadth of talent across its national offices in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., San Diego, New York, and Toronto.

Firm Earns Record Representation in Lawdragon’s Fourth Annual Guide Honoring the Future of the Legal Profession Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiff law firm, is proud to announce that 12 of its attorneys have been named to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation, Lawdragon’s f...

04/29/2026

Minneapolis Team Featured for their Pro Bono Work on Behalf of ICE Detainees, Almost All of Whom Have Been Released

Berger Montague represented more than 40 individuals detained during the ICE surge in the Twin Cities pro bono with habeas corpus petitions and filed a class action habeas case U.H.A. et al. v. Bondi et al., which challenged the illegal arrest and imprisonment of resettled refugees. Habeas corpus, Latin for ‘produce the body’, protects individuals from unlawful detention by requiring authorities to justify imprisonment before a court. The Court in the Bondi case issued a preliminary injunction, resulting in the proposed class being released from detention.